Bag-fastener



F. A. FULLER.

BAG FASTENER APPLICATlON FILED DEC-24, 1917.

Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

W Maw A TTOHIVEV UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANZ A. FULLER, OF NEWARK, NEW'JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO .1. E. MERGOTTCOM- IPANY, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF. NEW JERSEY.

BAG-FASTENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

Application filed December 24, 1917. Serial No. 208,546.

To all whom. it may concern Be it known that I, FRANZ A. FULLER, a citizen of the United States, residingin the city of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bag- Fasteners; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it apper tains to make, construct, and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The present invention has reference to improvements in metallic frames for pocketbooks, satchels purses, and the like; and theinvention relates more especially to a novel construction of locking or holding catch connected with the frame sections.

The main purpose of this invention is to provide a pocket-book, purse, or other frame, and its latch or catch which shall be neat in appearance, and shall be of a simple, strong and durable construction, with a view to furnishing a bag or purse frame having a novel construction of spring actuated holding catch or latch, which can be easily manipulated and one which is reinforced and not liable to breakage or disarrangement of its parts.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a perspective view of .a purse or bag frame and catch, embodying the principles of this invention.

Fig. 2 representsa fragmentary rear elevation of the frame with the catch mounted thereon.

Fig. 3 represents a fragmentary sectional view taken on line ma' of Fig. 1.

Fig. l represents an under plan view of the catch detached from the edge strip, and

Fig. 5 represents a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a modified form of catch.

Similar numerals of reference are employed in all of the above described views, to indicate corresponding parts.

In the drawings, 1 and 2 indicate the usual pair of frame sections which are pivotally secured in their lower end portions by means of suitable pins or pivots 3, or they may be pivotally connected with each other in any other well known manner. One of said frame sections, as 1, is provided in its outer edge with suitable holes or perforations 4: through which are passed certain'holding or clampmg prongs or ears 5 of an edge strip 6, said prongs or ears being adapted to be closed down upon the inner surfaces of said frame section 1 to securely hold said strip directly over the joint formed by the two frame sections 1 and 2 of the bag frame when closed. Said edge strip 6, throughout its entire length is flat having its end portions bent down to conform to the general outlines of the frame sections 1 and 2 and the free ends thereof are secured in position by means of prongs or ears 5 hereinabove mentioned.

As illustrated, said edge strip 6 is provided with a lateral, central raised portion 7 in WlllCll is operatively arranged the holding or locking catch 8. This central raised portion 7 so formed in the edge strip 6 is adapted to be engaged by the catch to limit the upward movement thereolf when raised. The central raised portion 7 is further provided with a cutaway or recessed portion 9 which is adapted to receive the operatively arranged holding or locking catch 8 in a manner to be hereinafter described more in detail. Said catch or holding device consists essentially of a plate 10, the rear and upper side of said plate being formed with a. projection 11 adapted for engagement with the wall of the central raised portion 7 of the edge strip 6 to limit the oscillatory movement of said catch. The plate 10 at its front end, is provided with a suitable finger receiving element 21, formed by turning the metal of said plate rearwardly upon itself as clearly illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4c of the drawings, said finger receiving element 21, overlapping the top of the frame section 2. A torsion spring 12 is held between the prongs 13 formed on the catch plate 10, one end of said spring 12 being firmly secured under one of the prongs 13 and the other end thereof secured in the channel of the frame section 1 so as to provide for a twist or torsional action of the springwhen the catch is operated and also to prevent rotation thereof. The said locking or holding catch provided with the projection 11, is pivotally and operatively connected with the recessed portion 9 of the edge strip 6 by having the end of the spring secured in the channel of the frame section 1. i l hen the catch has in this manner been arranged in position, the projection 11 which is formed on said catch plate 10 engages with the wall of the central raised portion 7 of the edge strip to limit the oscillatory movement of said catch. In this manner the catch will be retained in proper holding or locking position and when the catch is raised, the projection 11 will become disengaged from the wall of the raised portion of the edge strip, thereby placing the spring 12 under suflicient tension so that when the operator releases his or her hand from the catch it will return to its normal position with the projection 11. again pressing against the outer wall of the edge strip, thereby limiting the oscillatory movement of said catch.

Ihe holding or looking operation of the catch thus operatively connected with the frame section 1 is caused by snapping or forcing the catch over the usual projections 14 upon the frame section 2 into engagement with the recesses 15 formed in the plate 10 in the well known manner. a

In Fig. 5 of the drawings, I have illustrated a modified form of a looking or hold ing catch designed to embrace the lateral central raised portion 7 of the edge strip 6, which comprises, in addition to the plate 10 which has formed thereon the projection 11, a plate 16 of approximately the same dimension as the plate 10, said plate 16 being secured to the platelO in the following manner. Said plate 16 is provided with an integral downwardly extending projection 17 and the front edge of said plate is provided with a channel 20, the projection 17 being designed toengage with the projection 11 formed on the plate 10 and the channel being designed to receive the front offset portion 18 of the plate 10. This construction enables the two plates 10 and 16 to be frictionally secured together. In order to rigidly secure the two plates together, the offset portion 18 of the plate 10 is further provided with a number of apertures 19, and then by means of a suitable punch and die the metal of the channel 20 is forced into the apertures 19.

Experience has demonstrated that the organization above described is a highly efficient one, and while the device described is the preferred embodiment of my present invention, I do not care to restrict myself to the exact details of construction, combination and arrangements herein set forth, it-

being obvious that minor variations thereof, not involving the exercise of invention, may be made by any skilled mechanic, and'such departures from what is herein described and claimed, not involving invention, I consider within the scope and terms of my claim.

I claim:

In a bag or purse frame, the combination of a pair of frame sections, of a fiat edge strip provided with a central raised portion, connected with oneof said frame sections, to receive and position the holding or locking catch, said edge strip being further provided with a lateral recess to limit the upward movement of the catch, a locking catch located in said central raised portion of the edge strip, comprising a plate, the rear and upper side being formed with a projection positioned in the lateral recess of said edge strip and adapted for engagement with the Wall of the central raised portion of the edge strip to permit the oscillatory movement of said catch, said plate being further provided at its front end with a finger receiving element formed by turning the metal of said plate rearwardly upon itself, aligned integral spring holding means formed on each end of said catch, a torsion spring one end of which is secured to one of the holding means'on one end of the catch and the spring being further positioned in the other holding means on the other end of the catch, the other end of the spring being secured in the channel of the frame section against rotation.

This specification signed and witnessed this 19th day of December, 1917.

FRANZ A. FULLER.

Witnesses:

W. H. CoNKLIN, FREDK C. FISCHER. 

